“Education, Not Deportation”: Immigrant Graduate Student Experiences in US Higher Education

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 18: Intersectional Journeys: Navigating Identity, Race, and Mobility in Education

Abstract

In 2022, it was estimated that immigrant-origin students comprised “32% of all students in [US] higher education” (President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration 2024). While these students constitute a significant proportion of US higher education students today, further information is needed to understand their challenges and successes along the US educational pipeline, particularly for those holding a range of immigrant legal statuses. This paper uses a unique nationwide online survey of first-generation (documented and undocumented) and second-generation (US citizen children of immigrant parents) immigrant graduate/professional students. The national study builds on a pilot study that focused on students enrolled in accredited law and medical degree programs in the Northeastern United States, discussed in further detail below. This paper will present preliminary findings from the expanded nationwide survey comparing students’ experiences by legal status, gender, race, geographic region, and other institutional factors. This paper has implications for research on immigrant incorporation (including migrant illegality) and educational mobility and stratification.

Authors

• Kevin Escudero, Brown University

• Isabel Garcia Valdivia, University of Oregon